"Oregon Capitol, and A Touch of Nature" a Salem Travel Page by glabah

The state capitol of Oregon was selected to be in the middle of the Willamette Valley because, at that time, it was the center of the population of the state. Naturally, the Capitol Building itself is a place where many of us who went to grade school in the region visited at least once as part of school related activities.

As part of the state capitol, there are a number of administrative buildings, and assorted monuments, memorial parks, public art works, and public plazas. These range from a small picnic area by the agriculture building to The Sampo hidden behind the North Mall Office Building, and the impressive EcoEarth located in the Salem Riverfront Park.

Naturally, memorials to war dead make up some of the monuments. These range from the nearly hidden and humble Doughboy monument to the Korean War Memorial which is small in size but ornate, and the huge Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial to a war that isn't over yet.

At one time much of what is the downtown core of Salem (the several blocks along the waterfront) was heavy industrial. The city was ideally located for the paper and wood processing industries, as well as food processing from all the surrounding agricultural areas. Some of these industries still exist in Salem, while others are no longer there.

Some very creative people now live in Salem, and these local artists are responsible for such creations as the impressive EcoEarth located in the Salem Riverfront Park and the intricate hand made Salem Riverfront Carousel that attracts families downtown all year long. While I have only seen it from the outside, the appearance of the AC Gilbert Discovery Village seems to be a project of similar minded creative volunteers.

With so many creative people living here and in nearby communities, it should be no surprise that the annual Salem Art Fair and Festival is a huge event and attracts artists and art enthusiests from everywhere.

During the summer months the Salem Saturday Market is also a popular place to get local handcrafted items.

One of the nicest urban wilderness areas in the state of Oregon, as far as I am concerned, is the Minto-Brown Island Park and Wildlife Refuge. This is located directly south of downtown Salem, and is about the same size as the entire downtown area of the city. While the park has a playground and picnic facilities, the majority of space is wildlife preserve. It would be easy to spend an entire day in this park exploring its various trails.

Nearby Attractions

Silver Falls State Park is a wonderful place to visit, directly east of Salem.

The Oregon Garden in Silverton is near Silver Falls.

Brooks is just slightly north of Salem and has a large museum complex concentrating on old machines of all types.